Monday, October 31, 2011

FAISALABAD: Cotton crop has witnessed a tremendous growth due to favorable climate and proper pest scouting which will reciprocally help in getting bumper production. Agriculture experts told The Express Tribune that the May sown cotton crop is of about 175 days with 4.5-5 feet height by the third week of October 2011. The infection of Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) was recorded at 24.6% spots which are very low as compared to 62.84% spots during the same week of last year. The experts further said

that the attack of whitefly had also recorded a decreasing trend due to favorable climate. Similarly, the infestation of Jassid, mealy bug and boll and army worms remained low, the experts added.

75 underage drivers fined Rs17,900 in one day under new operation. PHOTO: APP

FAISALABAD:

Traffic police booked 75 underage drivers in the last 24 hours and fined them a total of Rs17,900 in Faisalabad.

According to traffic officials, the operation is part of a new campaign to curtail underage driving in the district.

“We need to ensure that everyone behind the wheel has a licence. At present there are boys as young as 12 who are driving cars,” chief traffic officer (CTO) Sardar Muhammad Asif Khan said. “This campaign will also act as a warning to parents who hand over vehicles to underage children. The only way to teach them a lesson is to fine these boys or seize the cars,” he said.

According to a spokesman of Traffic Police, traffic wardens were told to keep a lookout for underage drivers on motorcycles, cars and other vehicles.

“Most of the accidents we witness involve an underage driver,” he added.

The CTO issued directives to impound all vehicles being driven by underage drivers in the district. The vehicles will not be released until the parents or legal guardians of the juveniles submit an undertaking that their children will not drive until they acquire a licence.

The CTO asked people to prohibit their underage children from underage driving. “This not only poses a risk for the children themselves but it puts the lives of others at risk,” he said.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

FAISALABAD: The University of Faisalabad (TUF) has invited applications for admission in various programs falling under the academic session 2011. A TUF spokesperson told reporters on Sunday that the new academic programs include a BS Food Sciences and Technology (BSFST), Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm-D), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Doctor of Optometry (OD). The DPT and OD programmes are reserved for female candidates only and applications will be considered till the December 15 deadline.

FAISALABAD: The anti-corruption establishment (ACE) has arrested a patwari and an Irrigation Department clerk on charges of preparing forged documents and taking illegal gratification. According to officials, Chak No695-GB resident Muhammad Aslam filed an application before the ACE, alleging that Muhammad Saeed, a clerk of the Irrigation Department had demanded that he pay Rs5,000 to him for legal work. On this complaint, anti-corruption circle officer Malik Javaid Iqbal conducted a raid and arrested clerk Muhammad Saeed. The raiding officer also recovered marked currency notes from the the accused. Meanwhile, Iqbal also conducted a raid and arrested patwari Rana Nazar Husain on charges of preparing a forged contract. Separate cases have been registered against the accused.

FAISALABAD: The Health Department has setup special medical camps in all sacrificial animal sales points in the city to provide first aid and necessary medical facilities in case of any emergency. A department spokesperson said that the local district government had established 12 sales points in Faisalabad and directed that no sacrificial animals will be sold or purchased other than at designated points. He said that the DCO also directed the health department to setup special medical camps at the sales points to provide first aid and necessary medical treatment when required. The health department has also made arrangements to spray pesticides and other medicines to prevent the spread of the dengue virus in the area. Health officials said that the animals would also be vaccinated before they were sold.

" My daughter isn’t the first. He raped 6 other girls this year. Each time, they tortured the families and the cops refused to do anything," Victim’s father Muhammad Ramzan.

FAISALABAD:

A fifth grade student was allegedly gang raped by a local landlord a few days ago. The girl’s mother was also kidnapped and her father said that he had been receiving death threats for trying to register a case with local police.

According to police officials, Chak No36-DNB Tehsil Mandi Yazman, Bahawalpur resident Sheikh Muhammad Ramzan’s 14-year-old daughter Laiba Bibi was allegedly gang raped by local landlord Muhammad Sajjad and his two friends. “He abducted her on Friday and they also kidnapped her mother. When we finally found them my wife and daughter told me they had threatened to kill us all if we went to the police,” Ramzan said. Ramzan’s wife Basheeran said that they took her and her daughter and locked them up in a private torture cell in the basement of the landlord’s dera. “They chained me up in a room but three of the men took my daughter into another room and raped her,” she told reporters. Police officials recovered the woman and her daughter but set the accused free on Saturday night. “I approached the panchayat but they were unwilling to do anything either,” Ramzan said.

Ramzan said that the panchayat called landlord Arain and his son Muhammad Sajjad did not even listen to his case. “They immediately announced that my family should leave the village as soon as possible and the police are siding with them,” he said. Ramzan said that he had filed an application before the head of Rajkan Police who had registered a case against the accused under Section 542 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) but the police had set the accused free. “The police told us to drop the case. They said they wouldn’t guarantee our safety if we went ahead with it,” Ramzan said.

Ramzan told reporters that a police clerk leading the investigation was the son of one of the panchayat leaders and the police was not getting involved in the matter. “Chaudhary Irshad Muhammad, Sajjad’s cousin was also involved in the rape and he is an influential person. He set up a private torture cell at his Dera and no one will stand against him,” Ramzan said.

“My daughter is not the first one this has happened to. Six other girls have been raped by Sajjad this year but every time the family tried to file a case the landlord tortured them. They are free to abduct any girl from the village because the police will do nothing,” he said.

When contacted, police clerk Mehboob Zia said that this matter was a local issue and the media had no right to get involved. Investigation Officer ASI Muhammad Arshad told The Express Tribune that the accused people had gotten bail before the arrest. “That is why they were not arrested. We did file the case,” he said. “The girl’s parents say she was raped but she does not want a medical test to be done. That tells us she is making this up,” Arshad said.

“The police officials are lying. My daughter asked for a medical test and they are not considering the results,” Ramzan said.

“She has signed a document that she doesn’t want a medical test done. We cannot go against her wishes,” the ASI said. Ramzan approached the Regional Police Officer (RPO) and said that local police was ignoring the issue and providing shelter to the accused. The RPO has asked Bahawalpur district police officer (DPO) to take action against the accused.

Ramzan said that Arshad had gotten his daughter’s signatures claiming that he will record her statement for the arrest of the accused.

Additional Sessions Judge Haji Ahmad sentenced a man to 35 years in prison and also imposed a fine of Rs40,000 on Friday.

Warispur resident Nazeer Ahmed was found guilty of kidnapping and raping his niece. “The victim’s father Muhammad Ahmed filed the complaint against his brother and DNA evidence proved the rape allegations,” advocate Munawwar told the court. “Ahmed also confessed to the crime while in police custody,” police officials told the court.

Muhammad told the court that his brother kidnapped his daughter two months ago after the two had a fight and then raped her. “He threatened to hurt my family but I did not expect him to do this,” he added. After recording the evidence and adjudicating the arguments of the parties the court found Ahmed guilty of the charges and sentenced him to 35 years with a fine.

The court also ordered that the convict will have to undergo an additional imprisonment of four months if he fails to pay the fine on time.

FAISALABAD: More than 1,200 employees of the Population Welfare Department resigned from service after protesting against the non-payment of their salaries for the past four months. According to officials, Population Welfare Department budget funds were not released due to which over 1,200 male employees serving with the family planning union councils resigned. The mobilisation team was also bound to distribute medicines and spread awareness with regards to family planning. Health officials said that the mass resignations could deeply compromise the family planning programme and that the Population department needed to redress the issue as soon as possible.

FAISALABAD: The administration of the University of Agriculture has set up a Blood Donors Registration Camp under the Punjab chief minister’s initiative, ‘Punjab Blood Line’. The camp will maintain a list of donors willing to donate blood and arrange for transporting the blood where it is most needed in the district. Commissioner Tahir Hussain and executive district officer (Health) Dr Abdul Rauf called on the university’s Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmed Khan at the VC chambers on Friday to finalise arrangements in this regard.

FAISALABAD: The administration of the University of Agriculture has set up a Blood Donors Registration Camp under the Punjab chief minister’s initiative, ‘Punjab Blood Line’. The camp will maintain a list of donors willing to donate blood and arrange for transporting the blood where it is most needed in the district. Commissioner Tahir Hussain and executive district officer (Health) Dr Abdul Rauf called on the university’s Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmed Khan at the VC chambers on Friday to finalise arrangements in this regard.

The University of Agriculture, Faisalabad opened its three-day National Goat Show on Saturday featuring prize winning goats in the beauty, milk and body weight competition categories.

Meanwhile, the all Pakistan Sacrificial Animals Competition was held in tandem with the UAF event on Friday and prizes were distributed in this regard.

“We will be featuring livestock from all over the country and many of the animals have been reared specifically for this festival,” said a UAF organiser Muhammad Arif Hashim.

According to university staff and volunteers, the show will serve as a platform to boost entrepreneurial skills among farmers about new breeds, modern trends and techniques including international trends in goat herding. “This is more than just a beauty competition. Farming experts and veterinarians will also be on site to answer questions from farmers and to guide them about how to improve their performance and how best to feed and care for the animals,” said livestock expert Kashif Abdullah.

The first of the its kind goat show was inaugurated at 9am on Saturday at the Tent Pegging Ground, Jail Road.

The milk competition will begin on October 30 and will open at 6 am. A cavalcade will be held at 9.30am, body weight competition at 10.30am, individual beauty competition at 2.30pm and the main milk competition categories will begin at 6 pm. On October 31, a cavalcade will be held at 9.30am while the prize distribution ceremony will be held at 10.30 am. “This is a huge event and we have contestants from all over the province. The owners of winning animals will receive cash prizes as well as trophies,” said one of the organisers.

The all Pakistan Sacrificial Animals Competition held in Factory area Chamda Mandi, showcased sacrificial animals from across the country were featured in a function. In the goat competition Lahore’s 291 kg ‘Jhuley Laal’ was declared the winner; Lahore’s 289 kg ‘Heera’ stood second and Multan’s 289 kg ‘Billo’ stood third. In the calf competition, Faisalabad’s 40 maund ‘Don’ stood first, 38 maund ‘Babbar Sher’ stood second and 35 maund ‘Wattoo’ was declared third.

According to the owners the animals are given a special diet and are kept in special rooms. “We have worked very hard on raising these animals and they always fetch a good price. The ones that win at the competition usually sell for over Rs200,000,” said Haseena’s owner, Javed.

The owner of prize winning Jhulay Lal, Haroon Shah said that his animal had already won several local competitions but this was the first major event. “I am proud that we won. Now he will fetch a good price,” he added.

UAF officials said that it was important to organise such shows to promote community building activities and create awareness among the livestock farmers.

Announcing competition results, Professor Dr. Muhammad Sajjad Khan said that among Beetal (Makhi-Cheeni) she-goats, the goat of Muhammad Ali son of Noor got the first prize, while goats of Syed Muhammad Ali Shah and Raj Maseih stood second and third respectively.